Consumer Reports finds some newer cars burn too much oil
#121
Lexus Champion
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They are full of it. They have cleverly written the article to sensationalise the issue. After some of us on here have actually looked at the facts it appears that the issue is minor. CR does not even explain how the owners might have used the vehicles to perhaps cause this so called issue.
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#122
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Maybe CR will run an article about how misleading CR is ![Wink](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Some of the things they have cleverly left out:
1. Most modern cars have oil life monitors that will tell you that you are low on oil
2. Forced induction engines usually burn more oil
3. Almost all cars will warn you that the pressure is low
4. CR never once mentioned what might be stated in the owners manuals
5. CR never touched upon what type of oil the respondents were using
6. CR never touched on whether the owners are driving the cars hard
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Some of the things they have cleverly left out:
1. Most modern cars have oil life monitors that will tell you that you are low on oil
2. Forced induction engines usually burn more oil
3. Almost all cars will warn you that the pressure is low
4. CR never once mentioned what might be stated in the owners manuals
5. CR never touched upon what type of oil the respondents were using
6. CR never touched on whether the owners are driving the cars hard
#123
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it is not normal and will screw up other parts of the engine as well... all these manufacturers will currently repair these engines if customer complains about oil consumption.
#124
Lexus Champion
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Maybe CR will run an article about how misleading CR is ![Wink](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Some of the things they have cleverly left out:
1. Most modern cars have oil life monitors that will tell you that you are low on oil
2. Forced induction engines usually burn more oil
3. Almost all cars will warn you that the pressure is low
4. CR never once mentioned what might be stated in the owners manuals
5. CR never touched upon what type of oil the respondents were using
6. CR never touched on whether the owners are driving the cars hard
![Wink](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Some of the things they have cleverly left out:
1. Most modern cars have oil life monitors that will tell you that you are low on oil
2. Forced induction engines usually burn more oil
3. Almost all cars will warn you that the pressure is low
4. CR never once mentioned what might be stated in the owners manuals
5. CR never touched upon what type of oil the respondents were using
6. CR never touched on whether the owners are driving the cars hard
#125
Lexus Fanatic
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Apparently these geniuses at CR said that the CR does not show a direct connection to increased repairs of other parts of the engine.
BUT, they also said that ANY that burns oil between oil changes should be rapaired....so that is a lot of engines as apparently we have all discovered that almost all engines burn some sort of amount of oil.
BUT, they also said that ANY that burns oil between oil changes should be rapaired....so that is a lot of engines as apparently we have all discovered that almost all engines burn some sort of amount of oil.
#127
Lexus Fanatic
#128
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CR is blowing smoke, I would rather see them state that it is perfectly normal for an engine to burn oil and each manufacturer is different. They also did not report how those experiencing oil consumption are using their vehicles. Also, 2% of the survey respondents are reporting this issue is nothing significant, as there are a number of caveats such as how they are using the car, what kind of oil was used, who performed the oil change which where not discussed. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be some big epidemic of catastrophic failures on the road because of what CR all of sudden discovered.
I am glad I checked up on CR's useless claim as I never knew that almost all car engines burn oil, and I never knew that new engines burn more oil than when they age. I also never knew that when using an engine to high extremes, it may burn more oil.
I am glad I checked up on CR's useless claim as I never knew that almost all car engines burn oil, and I never knew that new engines burn more oil than when they age. I also never knew that when using an engine to high extremes, it may burn more oil.
While it is perfectly normal to burn some oil, CR is saying some models burn uncharacteristically higher than others. You want them to point out the caveats like you mentioned? Why? Are these caveats any different for cars that are not burning excessive oil? Are the offending models much higher performance than others? There are other force fed mainstream and performance engines out there that are not burning excessive oil. Why is it wrong to point out general anomalies to the car buying public buying luxury vehicles?
According to OP's quote, "The magazine says that standards for certain Audi and BMW cars say that it's reasonable to burn a quart of oil every 600 to 700 miles. Subaru considers one quart burned for every 1,000 to 1,200 miles to be acceptable, Consumer Reports said". So, as you see, CR is pointing out what the manual says. While Subaru, Audi, and BMW are claiming them to be acceptable, any unsuspecting car buying public will consider this amount of consumption as excessive and unacceptable.
Again from one of the offending manufacturers, Audi spokesman Bradley Stertz said a class action lawsuit against Audi over oil consumption by the 2.0-Liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines is close to being settled without the company admitting liability or wrongdoing. The settlement affects 2009 A4, 2010 A4 and A5, and 2011 A4, A5 and Q5 models. With the other models, Audi hasn't been able to identify an abnormal number of oil consumption complaints, he said.
Clearly Jill, you'll agree that there are Audi's customers who could perhaps had these kind of articles by CR come up sooner.
In any case, that is enough evidence, claim and counter claim for me to justify staying away from those models and at least where the 2.0 l turbo 4 has been used and BMW's said models. I simply don't want the hassle of being given the runaround by the manufacturer while running the uphill battle of class action lawsuits; while they simply point out a line in the owner's manual with an oil consumption amount that was perhaps acceptable in the 70's, but not now. Not at the least with the mainstream offering. So I thank CR for pointing out these makes and models, so that I can decide to steer clear from. I retain my vehicles for a long term period. So, having this knowledge is critical for my car buying decisions.
I'll tell you what. If these offending manufacturers find faults with CR claim, they will file a libel suit. Not that others haven't tried this route before. Let's see if it happens. Until then CR has my support for pointing this out. The more you cry foul over CR's article since all the deliberations, the more I tend to suspect you have an agenda behind it.
Last edited by LoveCT; 07-04-15 at 08:15 PM.
#129
Lexus Fanatic
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Originally Posted by LoveCT
I'll tell you what. If these offending manufacturers find faults with CR claim, they will file a libel suit. Not that others haven't tried this route before. Let's see if it happens. Until then CR has my support for pointing this out. The more you cry foul over CR's article since all the deliberations, the more I tend to suspect you have an agenda behind it.
#130
Lexus Test Driver
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Just to bring context, by looking at a scenario not automotive related, but similar in real life.
What if a common pain medication irritated one's stomach lining, caused cramping and in some cases caused severe side effects including bleeding through the anus or rupture in the wall of the stomach or intestine, would it be OK? what if those side effects are disclosed and listed in the meds literature? would it still be OK?
What if a well respected medical journal published an article with that information? Would it be sensationalising?
Well this is the case with plain old acetylsalicylic acid, or the active ingredient in Aspirin.
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-10...t-sideeffectsv
CR is crap, but the article stands on its merits as providing information to its readers and subscribers. At least, it can't be accused of being bought by its advertisers. Even if it is obvious when they have it in for a brand or company.
What if a common pain medication irritated one's stomach lining, caused cramping and in some cases caused severe side effects including bleeding through the anus or rupture in the wall of the stomach or intestine, would it be OK? what if those side effects are disclosed and listed in the meds literature? would it still be OK?
What if a well respected medical journal published an article with that information? Would it be sensationalising?
Well this is the case with plain old acetylsalicylic acid, or the active ingredient in Aspirin.
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-10...t-sideeffectsv
CR is crap, but the article stands on its merits as providing information to its readers and subscribers. At least, it can't be accused of being bought by its advertisers. Even if it is obvious when they have it in for a brand or company.
Last edited by My0gr81; 07-04-15 at 08:40 PM.
#131
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Maybe CR will run an article about how misleading CR is ![Wink](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Some of the things they have cleverly left out:
1. Most modern cars have oil life monitors that will tell you that you are low on oil
2. Forced induction engines usually burn more oil
3. Almost all cars will warn you that the pressure is low
4. CR never once mentioned what might be stated in the owners manuals
5. CR never touched upon what type of oil the respondents were using
6. CR never touched on whether the owners are driving the cars hard
![Wink](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Some of the things they have cleverly left out:
1. Most modern cars have oil life monitors that will tell you that you are low on oil
2. Forced induction engines usually burn more oil
3. Almost all cars will warn you that the pressure is low
4. CR never once mentioned what might be stated in the owners manuals
5. CR never touched upon what type of oil the respondents were using
6. CR never touched on whether the owners are driving the cars hard
2. But clearly, the engines from BMW, Audi and Subaru are worse than other boosted offerings. Could this be because of the manufacturers' fault?
3.Again, so what? This is not a clean pass to build a bad engine. It's as if saying that you can pass bad valve in a tire because there is a Tire Pressure Monitoring System. If the driver fails to notice the TPMS warning, any subsequent issues are not bad valve issuer/installer's problem.
4. Looks like it did form reading the original posting, at least in its announcements and media releases.
5. Why should it do that? Are you suspecting that the users of these offending makes are following a different statistical pattern of non compliance than the non offenders.
6. Again, why should it do that? Are you suspecting that the drivers of these offending engines are driving uncharacteristically different than the non offenders? By simply saying that you will consume more oil by driving hard, should equally be held true for both offenders and non offenders. A characteristic of a good engine is to resist eating lubrication, at all driving formats. The thought that owners of Audi A5 (offending engine) perhaps are driving harder than S5 (non offender) is somewhat difficult to prove or contest.
Last edited by LoveCT; 07-04-15 at 10:16 PM.
#132
Lexus Fanatic
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Originally Posted by LexsCTJill
Maybe CR will run an article about how misleading CR is
Some of the things they have cleverly left out:
1. Most modern cars have oil life monitors that will tell you that you are low on oil
1. Most modern cars have oil life monitors that will tell you that you are low on oil
2. Forced induction engines usually burn more oil
3. Almost all cars will warn you that the pressure is low
4. CR never once mentioned what might be stated in the owners manuals
5. CR never touched upon what type of oil the respondents were using
6. CR never touched on whether the owners are driving the cars hard
Last edited by mmarshall; 07-04-15 at 09:02 PM.
#133
Lexus Fanatic
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Basically there is a button that says "Measure Engine Oil Level" and the engine oil is measured via a scale.
mmarshall, you are showing how misleading this CR article is. You obviously did not do any research into the issue.
#134
Lexus Fanatic
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Basically there is a button that says "Measure Engine Oil Level" and the engine oil is measured via a scale.
mmarshall, you are showing how misleading this CR article is. You obviously did not do any research into the issue.
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Last edited by mmarshall; 07-05-15 at 10:30 AM.
#135
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time has changed. whatever there is in the past might not apply now